


The Seven In High School

by Leviose



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Fluff, High School, M/M, the seven in high school
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 13:35:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 17,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9659618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leviose/pseuds/Leviose
Summary: In this totally unrealistic Heroes Of Olympus fanfiction after the Giant War (because A GUY i.e. Richard Russell Riordan said that not all of the Seven will survive the Giant War), the Seven have defeated Gaia.The Seven want to have a normal life, and what do the wonderful, WONDERFUL Olympians do?Answer: They put them in the hellhole also known as high school.To be more exact, Goode High School, Percy's school.So yeah, you get Percabeth, Jiper/Jasper, Frazel and Leo in high school. Parties, detention, making out and (lemme hear it!) LEO BAD BOY VALDEZ!Questions will be answered! Like: What happens to Calypso? Will Leo ever find love?Haha, just blame it on Athena. She's the one who insisted on an education for the Seven.





	1. We Hit The Jackpot (LOL, Psych!)

**Author's Note:**

> don't kill me? i am actually the real author, i just decided to repost here. also, forgive the poor writing. i wrote it 3 years ago, and so, i will revise it all when i have time. peace <3

**PERCY**

Percy felt like he was on crack.

Sure, they'd won the Giant War, lullaby-ed Dirt Face(Gaia) back to sleep, kicked the giants' sorry butts back to Tartarus, negotiated peace between the Greek and Roman sides and killed lots of monsters. Eternal prizes for them all! Right?

Nope. They were still in the Olympians' throne room on Mount Olympus on the Empire State Tower. And the Olympians were full mega-deluxe size and sitting on their thrones. He was pretty sure Athena was repressing the urge to evil-eye him.

But Percy was still grinning uncontrollably. As were all his friends.

Beside him, Annabeth nervously cleared her throat.

"Rise, heroes of Olympus." Zeus said sternly.

His friends and Percy stood up quickly. Jason's gladius banged his knee. Percy thought he glimpsed Hazel sliding a ruby into her pocket.

"You may leave." Zeus said clearly.

Annabeth's hand slipped into his own, and Percy's mind fuzzed for a while. When it cleared, they were out of the throne room.

 

* * *

 

 

"So," Annabeth said.

They were in the Argo II, chowing down.

Percy put down his cheeseburger and gulped some blue Coke down.

The Argo II was good as new, thanks to Leo's request. Opposite him, Jason was holding Piper's hand under the table. Frank was twirling his fork in his spaghetti. Hazel was staring at an image of Camp Half-Blood in shock. Leo was grinning maniacally, like, I'm gonna burn everything down!

"We won the Giant War, sent Gaia back to sleep and killed all of the giants'. With the Olympians' help, of course." Annabeth added quickly after the sky rumbled. "Returned the Athena Parthenon and now both sides are at peace."

"So it's a win-win situation." Percy said. The crew gaped at him.

"What? Hanging out with Annabeth enlarges your vocabulary." he said defensively.

Annabeth smiled at Percy and leaned over to kiss him.

Leo cleared his throat but stopped abruptly and gazed at his glass. If Percy hadn't known better, he would've sworn that he saw a trace of wistfulness in Leo's gaze.

"And all of us happened to wish for a peaceful love life. And Leo wished that he would find true love." Annabeth said.

Percy nodded, poking at a water droplet on his glass.

" The Olympians-" Annabeth choked. Percy reached over swiftly and clapped Annabeth's back till her choking stopped.

Piper handed Annabeth a glass of water, which she sipped from gratefully.

"We're going to-" Leo started to choke, too at the horrifying prospect. Piper sighed and handed Leo a glass of water as Frank pounded Leo's back, real bro-like.

"We're going to high school." said Frank drearily.

"Yep. And not just any high school. Goode High School, the school I went to before Hera plucked Jason and I out of our camps and wiped our memories." Percy finished.

"And we start next week. Monday." Hazel said, running her finger around the rim of her ruby encrusted glass. Now that her curse had been broken by Frank, the jewels that popped out because of her were no longer cursed.

"Lucky us." Leo said sarcastically.

"Leo, at least we're alive." Piper said.

"We have the whole weekend ahead of us to adjust. What luck." Jason said.

From his wince, Percy guessed that he had just been kicked under the table.

"And we get a penthouse to live in!" Piper said cheerfully. "Don't want to break us up."

Percy nodded melancholically. He'd kind of wanted to live with his mom again, but it just didn't feel right. Him leaving would've broken them up. Besides, he would miss his friends.

"Okay! Once you've done eating, please return to your rooms to pack up. Next stop: Camp Half-Blood!" Leo said cheerfully, ringing a bell.

Percy's mood brightened immediately. He hadn't gotten to see Camp Half-Blood since, like, forever. That place was his second home. He missed so much about it. His cabin, swordfighting lessons, climbing the lava wall, Capture-the-Flag...the list went on.

Percy felt Annabeth touch his arm lightly. He looked up to see that she was smiling.

"We're going home." she said quietly.


	2. I Summon A Rainbow

**PERCY**

Percy felt like his heart was going to explode.  
  
He stood on deck with his arm around Annabeth. The rest of the crew were standing on deck too, with their luggage clustered around their feet.

Jason and Piper were standing together. Leo was talking frantically to Festus, who was creaking out answers and blowing out miniature streams of fires out. However, Hazel and Frank stood a little apart from the crew.

He couldn't really blame them, because Camp Half-Blood wasn't their home. Camp Jupiter was.  
  
He and Annabeth were staring down. The swirling clouds slowly gave way to strawberry fields. Beside him, Annabeth looked like she was going to pass out from excitement.   
  
Slowly, the Argo II landed. The ship touched down on the crystal waters of the beach, a little distance from the shore. The anchor lowered and struck the seabed with a resounding echo. All of his Greek friends' faces were alight with sheer estacy, but Leo's face was tinged with a little sadness. What could he be sad about?   
  
Percy was so excited, he didn't even wait for Leo to lower the ladder. He jumped straight into the saltwater, relishing the burst of energy it gave him.   
  
Six faces peered at him from above. Piper laughed with relief.

  
"He's not even wet!" Piper said. 

  
"Man, could you stop making the rest of us jealous?" Leo asked, chortling.

Percy grinned. He squinted his eyes and whistled.

  
Rainbow and seven of his friends surfaced, shaking their manes.

Hazel gasped. "Hippocampi." she said admiringly. 

  
"Being the son of Poseidon does have its perks." Percy said.  
  
He held a hand out to Annabeth. "Ladies first." he said. Annabeth gripped his hand and made her way down the ladder lightly. She climbed on Rainbow's back and stroked his mane.

  
Next, Piper climbed down the ladder and jumped on another hippocampus' back. Hazel was next to make her way down.

  
"Hey, I need one of you down here first to lower the luggage." Percy said. 

  
"I'll go." Frank volunteered. He climbed down hurriedly and got on a hippocampus. Another swam up. Jason and Leo handed down the luggage to Percy. Once the hippocampus' back was full, Frank looked up questioningly at Leo. "Do you have any rope?"

  
"Do I have any rope? Can you turn into a llama?" Leo grinned. He pulled out some rope from his magic tool belt, which Percy took and secured the luggage with. The hippocampus whinnied and swam off. Another took its place. The last of the luggage was secured on the hippocampus' back with rope again. Annabeth, Piper and Hazel's hippocampi swam up to them. Leo jumped on the last hippocampus while Percy rode on Rainbow with Annabeth, Jason rode with Piper and Frank with Hazel. Hazel was clearly loving being on a hippocampus.   
  
"Let's go!" Percy yelled. The hippocampi broke into a canter. Annabeth laughed giddily behind him. They reached the shore in a few minutes. Jason and Leo slipped off and freed the luggage. The hippocampi neighed their goodbyes, Hazel's especially sadly. Hazel's nuzzled her face affectionately. Then they sank beneath the waves.  
  
"Okay. What now?" Annabeth asked. Percy grinned.   
  
"We make a grand entrance." Percy replied with a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**PERCY**

 

"Ready?" Percy asked, grinning widely.

 

Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Leo, Hazel and Frank nodded and gave him the thumbs-up in response.

 

Percy was astride Blackjack. He had concentrated and called Blackjack, Guido and Porkpie. Annabeth was on Guido, while Porkpie carried the luggage.

 

Nice to see you're alive, boss! Any doughnuts? Blackjack whinnied. 

 

 

Percy laughed. "Later. Thanks for surviving and answering my call."

 

No prob, boss! I accept payment in doughnut form! Blackjack flapped his black wings up and down. 

 

Guido pawed the ground. Tell your girlfriend I missed her!

 

"Hey, Annabeth. Guido here says he missed you." Percy said.

 

"Missed you too, boy." Annabeth said to Guido.

 

Porkpie hadn't been too happy being the luggage carrier but Percy had said, It's a great honour! You're carrying the spoils of war!

 

He had also promised him sugar lumps.

 

That was all it took.

 

Jason had summoned his storm spirit horse, Tempest. He was sitting on Tempest already, with Piper behind him. Pretty sweet ride.

 

Arion had answered Hazel's call, and she was on Arion's back already, Frank behind her. Arion was impressive, not to mention intimidating, and technically his brother.

 

Leo had hitched a ride with his Archimedes sphere. He'd built a propeller and attached it to the sphere, together with a neon-orange parachute (Annabeth insisted) if he happened to crash. Leo, being Leo had got a blank white banner and painted WASSUP? :) on it in fiery red. Leo planned to hold it above him as he floated down.

 

"I finally get to live out my dream!" Leo said happily.

 

"Huh?" Frank said.

 

"Leo wanted to paint it on the hull of the Argo II, but Annabeth used her super veto power to axe the idea." Piper explained.

 

"I didn't think the Romans would appreciate it." Annabeth said defensively. "Who knew if they had a sense of humour?"

 

Frank looked shocked. "Romans have humour! Lots of it!"

 

"Psh, yeah. Sure, Frank." Leo said.

 

"Okay! Everyone ready?" Jason asked quickly, as Frank had turned red.

 

"Yep!" they chorused.

 

"THEN LET'S GO!!!" Leo yelled.

 

The pegasi took off, flapping their massive wings. The wind coming from their wings ruffled Percy's hair and tangled it even more, but he didn't care. Behind him, Annabeth yelled in delight. 

 

Tempest was galloping around in the sky, miniature storm clouds shooting out from his hooves. Jason was whooping, while Piper had a death grip around Jason's waist. Percy doubted that Jason minded much though.

 

Arion was streaking way ahead. That was expected though. He was the fastest horse in the world. All that could be seen of his passengers were Hazel's long curly brown hair and Frank's bright red sweatshirt. Blood red, the color of Ares and Mars.

 

Leo was cursing. "Faster, sphere! Listen to Papa!" He pulled out a tiny remote, fiddled with a few wires, and pressed a button. The propeller started whirring faster and put on a burst of speed, levelling him with Jason and Piper. 

 

Beside him, Annabeth's face was cracking into a giant grin. They were leading the air pack. Arion had probably reached camp already. 

 

Blackjack and his friends dipped suddenly. Percy could see almost everything. 

 

On Half-Blood Hill, Thalia's pine tree stood with the Golden Fleece glittering on its branches. The guard dragon, Peleus was curled around the tree trunk as usual, bigger than ever. To Percy's right, the woods spread out. A large cluster of trees rustled loudly. Probably one of the larger monsters. To his right, the canoe lake's blue waters shone under the bright sun and molten lava poured down the climbing wall. The cabins-for the children of each Olympian god-formed a Greek omega around the commons area. Further south were the lush strawberry fields, their stalks drooping with plump strawberries, the armoury and the four-storey Big House. It was still painted sky blue and the bronze eagle weathervane was still mounted proudly on the roof.

 

The camp looked just the same, except from some random scorch marks in the green grass. Must be the Ares' cabin kids' landmines. 

 

"Okay, Blackjack. Land in the commons area." Percy instructed. 

 

Sure thing, boss! Blackjack whinnied. The pegasi took a dangerous but coordinated dive down. The wind whistled loudly in Percy's ears. He looked behind and saw Annabeth screaming with pure exhilaration, Jason's eyes crazily wide, Piper-praying?!-and Leo's banner billowing in the wind while Leo screamed loudly.

 

Below he saw all the campers gathered around at the commons area. Around Arion, Hazel and Frank. 

 

Maybe it might not have been such a good idea to send Arion, Hazel and Frank (the Romans) ahead of them?


	4. Leo Gets The Bucket

 

**PERCY**

 

Sparks lit up the blue sky, spelling out: WE'RE BACK!

And what Percy thought was them, except the one with curly hair and tool belt was significantly taller. 

Fireworks? Leo hadn't said anything about fireworks! 

Behind him, Leo was whooping crazily. All the campers were staring up at the fireworks, then they spotted them. A wild cheer started spreading like crazy. 

But then, because Leo was, well, Leo, something happened. 

Leo set himself on fire.

That itself would've been okay, since Leo was fireproof and all, but he also set the banner he was holding on fire. The _WASSUP :)_ banner blazed up immediately. 

Leo didn't notice, because he didn't feel the heat of the flames. But the campers certainly did. Two of them ran off and returned with a bucket of water.

The pegasi touched down on the ground. Percy and Annabeth leaped off their pegasi and were immediately engulfed by the campers. Piper and Jason received the same treatment too.

As soon as Leo's feet made contact with the ground, the two campers ran up. They doused him with the water instantly. Leo shook his head like a wet dog, and droplets of icy cold water flew everywhere. No one, not even the Aphrodite campers ducked to avoid it, because they were too busy hugging all of them. 

Finally, they got free. Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper and Leo stepped back a little from the campers. 

A tall, hulking figure emerged from the campers. It was Clarisse. Her face was set in a wide grin. She didn't even try for her normal scowl, she was that happy.

"Jackson! Way to leave us, then save the entire freaking world!" Clarisse bellowed.

"Well, Hera didn't give me much choice! And I save the world, like, every year. No biggie." Percy said.

Clarisse looked like she was going to say something, but started laughing instead. Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper and Leo stared, a little shocked. Clarisse had laughed at Percy, but she'd never laughed because of Percy.

"I'm kinda glad you're back, Jackson."

"We missed you guys. A lot." Will Solace said, stepping forward. 

"Whaaat?" asked Annabeth. 

"After you guys....you know, left on the quest to close the Doors of Death, defeat Gaia and fulfill the Second Great Prophecy we had a special campfire. To remember you guys and wish you luck." Jake Mason explained. 

"Basically, you had a shroud-burning ceremony without the shroud-burning." said Annabeth. 

"Sounds about right." Clarisse said, shrugging. 

A galloping noise could be heard. The campers parted to admit Chiron.

"Chiron!" Annabeth cried. She dashed forward to hug their trainer. His kindly face seemed to light up at he gamely hugged Annabeth back. Percy didn't know why he did it, but he hugged Chiron too.

"Percy! Annabeth! I'm glad you're back." said Chiron. His horse half cantered back and forth, swishing his tail.

Annabeth and Percy broke away and smiled at their mentor. Then Annabeth's face turned serious. 

"Chiron, can we have a, um, meeting in the rec room?"

 

***

 

"So, wait, what?" Travis snorted. 

"Yeah. You heard right." Jason said wearily. 

They had explained over 3 times, but apparently it hadn't sunk in yet.

"You're going to HIGH SCHOOL." said Will.

"On Monday." Leo said helpfully. 

"That is fine. But you are all coming back for the summer holidays, right?" Chiron said calmly.

"Yeah. If we survive." Percy said.

"Come on, Percy. High school can't be all that bad, right?" asked Frank. 

Frank, as the praetor of Camp Jupiter was the Roman representative/ambassador. Judging by the looks he was getting, Romans were not fully trusted yet.

Leo laughed out loud. "Worse that Tartarus, Zhang!" He looked nervously at Percy and Annabeth. "Sorry."

"It's good. " Percy said. 

"But that was a bit overstated. Tartarus is worse." Annabeth said. 

 

***

 

The meeting dragged on. 

"You all have the weekend to pack up and do whatever you want. Go crazy!" Chiron said.

"But not literally!" Piper said. 

"First things first. Let's make a list!" Leo announced grandly.

They all stared at Leo.

"Um, Leo? You feeling okay? Feverish?" asked Piper. 

"I'm okay. Just overcome by a responsibility surge for a while." Leo said.

"Leo's....right. We should make a list."

"Let's go!" Leo cheered. 

Leo started smoking, and flames leaped from his hair.

"Someone, get a bucket!" Piper cried. 


	5. Piper Sings For A Ride

**PERCY**  
  
"Okay, that's it. I think this is enough to do." said Annabeth. They all stood back, admiring the List.  
  
The List was in fact a just a piece of white paper, covered with different shades of ink and different types of handwriting. Many stains, ink blots and doodles covered the paper. There were even quite a few burn marks. But from the way Percy and his friends looked at it, it might have been Olympus itself.  
  
Chiron strode into the room, accompanied by the senior counselors. "Are you all finally done?" he asked wearily. Percy checked the wall clock. Oh. They had been writing it for five hours?! It was already dinnertime.  
  
"Yeah, we're done. We'll really get to do everything?" asked Leo.  
  
Chiron laughed. "Yes, as long as they're safe and do not go against the laws."  
  
"'Course, Chiron. Why would you ever doubt that?" asked Leo, in a fake pained manner.   
  
Everyone looked at Leo.  
  
"Let's face it, Leo. A lot of the things you want to do are illegal. Like that time you wanted to ju-" Jason said.  
  
Leo coughed loudly, interrupting Jason. "Sheesh. You mention something and people never forget. Let me remind you all, IT WAS JUST THAT ONCE." Leo said.  
  
"Not just that once." said Piper. "You also wanted to break into-"  
  
"Drop it." Leo said sternly. Or as stern as Leo could be.  
  
"Okay, Annabeth, why don't you read it?" Percy asked. Annabeth shot him a grateful look, picked up the List and started reading.  
  
"1# Visit Percy's mom, Annabeth's dad and Piper's dad.  
2# Play capture-the-flag.  
3# View our new penthouse.   
4# Move in.  
5# Play gladiator games.  
6# Update Hazel on everything.  
7# Have a beach party."  
  
"All right now, you will have to split to visit the parents. Weapons at the ready for any monster attacks." he warned.  
  
"Annabeth, can you go with me to visit my mom?" Percy asked. His mom liked Annabeth a lot, and hopefully, with Annabeth, she wouldn't be too mad at him for leaving.  
  
Annabeth nodded. "Sure."  
  
"Jason and I will go with Piper." Leo said. "Frank, Hazel, who you going with?"  
  
"Um, we'll go with Percy and Annabeth." Frank said.  
  
"Yeah, we've been wanting to see why Percy turned out like this!" Hazel said excitedly.  
  
"I guess we'll shadow-travel with Mrs. O'Leary." Percy said. "How will you guys go?"  
  
Jason grinned. "Chariot. Percy can talk to the pegasi first."  
  
"Sound good, Chiron?" Piper asked.  
  
"Perfect. Now get ready. Chop-chop!" Chiron said.

***  
  
Percy patted Rudolph's red nose encouragingly. He loved being in the stables, because of the pleasant smell of hay and the pegasi to talk to. Rudolph in particular was funny. When his mother pegasus gave birth to him, his nose had been red already, prompting them to name him Rudolph because of Santa's flying reindeer. So 'Rudolph The Red-Nosed Pegasus' became his song. Humming it while riding him made the pegasus fly faster.  
  
"Los Angeles, understand? You must listen to Piper." Percy said.  
  
 _Okay! Make sure she sings my song!_ Rudolph nickered.  
  
"Yeah, sure." he said.  
  
***  
  
Percy, Annabeth, Frank and Hazel all sat on Mrs O'Leary while waving to Piper, Jason and Leo and listening to Piper's rendition of 'Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer' fade away.  
  
"Everyone ready? Hang on tight and don't let go." Percy said. He loved shadow-traveling.  
  
They nodded. Percy grinned and leaned forward to whisper in Mrs O'Leary's ear.  
  
"Sally Jackson's home, Manhattan!" he whispered. Mrs O'Leary's ears pricked up, and she bounded forward into the shadow of the Big House. 


	6. My Mother Explodes

**PERCY**  
  
Percy should've known better. Mrs O'Leary had shadow-traveled into the shadow of the television. And she was as big as the room.   
  
Her eager barking filled the room like an air-raid siren set on GO CRAZY. Percy covered his ears, wincing. He totally should've known better. Annabeth, Frank and Hazel covered their ears too, clearly in pain. But as he waited for his mom and Paul, he looked around.   
  
His mom's apartment hadn't changed much. But since he'd been gone, his mom had framed a family photo. Percy, his mom and Paul were in Central Park on a sunny day. They were all smiling with the sun in their eyes at the camera. His mom and Paul's arms were around Percy. Above them he could see the Empire State Building.  
  
But then his mom and Paul emerged from their bedroom.  
  
"Who's there?" his mom called. She trailed off abruptly when she saw Percy. While Paul's eyes widened and he grinned widely.   
  
"Uh, why don't you go to the door, girl. More space there." Percy said. She woofed and slid over.  
  
Then Percy's mom turned red.  
  
"PERCY JACKSON! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH?" she shouted furiously. She stormed towards them.   
  
"Riptide gone, disappeared from Camp Half-Blood! DID YOU THINK OF US?" she screamed.  
  
"DID YOU EVEN THINK OF WHAT WE FELT LIKE? WHAT I FELT LIKE, WHAT ANNABETH-" she broke off and smiled at Annabeth. "But of course, I don't blame you, dear."  
  
"I missed you, I'm sorry Hera kidnapped me from Camp Half-Blood, and...I love you?" Percy said nervously. He had never seen his mom like this.  
  
His mom softened immediately. It wasn't in her nature to be mad at him.  
  
"I love you too, Percy." she smiled. Paul gave Percy the thumbs-up.   
  
***  
  
"So, wait, what? Is this you too?" Frank asked incredulously.  
  
"Yep." Percy sighed.  
  
After Percy had introduced Frank and Hazel to his mom and Paul, she had parked them on the couch and served them blue cookies and Coca-Cola. It was so comforting to eat his mom's blue cookies again. It was baked just right, with the chocolate chips soft and melting in the mouth. She had also brought out Percy's old photo album, despite his protests.  
  
"Let me see." Hazel said, craning her head. She gasped and covered her mouth, suppressing her laughter.  
"Lean back, Seaweed Brain. I want to see." Annabeth said. She leaned over to see the photo album resting on Frank's lap and promptly broke out in laughter.  
  
In the picture, a young Percy was dressed in a white flowing gown, with clasped hands and a yellow glowstick twisted into a halo around his head. He was dressed as an angel. The only thing missing was the serene expression, for he had an irritated expression fixed on his face, complete with scowl.  
  
"Oh yes," his mom sighed, clasping her hands. "Percy was the angel in his school play. After the play, the water pipes burst and the school was flooded for days."  
  
"Well," Percy said defensively. "I did warn them that I wasn't going to be a good angel."  
Annabeth laughed and clapped his back. "And you did, Seaweed Brain. You stuck to your principles and flooded the school. I'm so proud."   
  
"Yes, Wise Girl. I did."  
  
Hazel, Frank, Percy's mom and Paul laughed, no doubt enjoying the latest episode of _The Percy/Annabeth Show_.   
  
"So, Mom. There's something I've got to tell you." Percy said.   
"What is it, Percy?" she asked fondly.  
"We're, well, kind of going back to high school. Goode, actually." Percy blurted.  
"That's good! Great, in fact. You would be in your....junior year, I think." Paul said smoothly.  
"Paul's right. That is great. You'll be continuing your education." Percy's mom replied.  
  
Percy exhaled a sigh of relief. He had been worried about his mom and Paul's reaction, despite Annabeth's constant reassurances. And she had turned out to be right. Somehow, Annabeth was always right.  
  
"I think your high school years will go smoothly." Percy's mom said.  
"Yeah, unless we have to save the world again." Percy pointed out.  
"Come on, what are the chances?" Hazel protested.  
"That's what we said, after the first Great Prophecy. Then look at what happened." Percy said.  
"Gaia happened." Frank said.


	7. Piper's Dad Is A Public Service Announcement

PIPER

Piper stared up at the big wooden front door. The pegasi had deposited them directly in the grounds of her dad's mansion, avoiding the super-tight security.

"Knock!" Leo said.

Piper still stared at the door, not showing that she'd acknowledged Leo's remark.

'"Just knock already!" Leo cried impatiently.

Piper stared at the wood patterns in the door.

"Why isn't she knocking?" Leo whispered to Jason loudly. "Do you think she knows how to knock?"

"Gods, Leo! You can't just ask people whether they know how to knock or not!" Jason said.

Piper had had enough. She steeled herself and knocked on the door, using the big brass knocker.

The door flew open, revealing Tabitha, their housekeeper. Her eyes widened slightly as she surveyed them, and blinked as she looked at their weapons and blinked again as the Mist changed their weapons.

"Ms McLean! You're supposed to be at boarding school!" she cried.

Piper managed a smile. "Well, we're on-vacation."

Tabitha blinked. "What?" She put her hands on the hips of her ample figure.

"What Piper means is, our school is getting fumigated. Apparently someone left cat food in the air vents. Tragic, really." Leo said quickly.

"Oh, goodness me!" Tabitha gasped. "I didn't see you there. Who are these fine young men, Piper?"

"That's Jason, and that's Leo." Piper said.

"Are any of them your boyfriend? Both?" Tabitha sucked in so much air, it was a miracle they still had any to breathe. "What would your poor mother say if she knew you were toying with these poor young men's emotions! Young lady-"

"Actually, I'm her boyfriend. Leo there is just her friend." Jason interrupted.

"Thank God! Aren't the both of you just precious! And Piper! Getting so tall and beautiful. Why, it seems like just yesterday you were a mere baby, getting-"

"Okay, Tabitha. That's enough. We're here to see my dad." Piper said, before Tabitha could tell Jason and Leo about any of her embarrassing baby stories.

"Yes, yes, sorry. Come right in!" Tabitha said, ushering them in. "Please, your coats."

Piper shrugged off her skiing jacket and handed it to Tabitha. Behind her, Jason and Leo did the same.

"I think your father is in the living room, learning his lines. I'll bring the snacks." Tabitha said.

Piper nodded and beckoned to Jason and Leo. "C'mon, this way, guys."

She led the way down the long hallway. Eventually, they reached the living room.

The living room was done up in various shades of white, complete with a giant plasma television. Large comfy couches were arranged around a teakwood coffee table on a red rug. But it was empty. Jason walked over to the coffee table, where there was a note.

"'Tabitha, I'll be in the den. -Tristian.'" Leo read. He turned and grinned. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's Leo out of this room and to the den!"

***

Piper pushed open the door of the den and peeked inside. It hadn't changed, which was a comfort. As usual, a couple of colorful couches that somehow went together in mismatched harmony were grouped around a dark coffee table. In front of them was the twin of the television from the living room. In the corner of the den was an empty fireplace.

Piper approached her father's favorite armchair. Her heart thrummed with nervousness at seeing her father again. The last time she'd seen him in person, he had been broken and crying (slightly) after they rescued him from Enceladus.

"Dad?" Piper said nervously. The figure in the armchair murmuring lines sat up.

"Pipes!" her father gasped. He got up and hugged her warmly. "I haven't seen you in such a long time! And you just showed up without calling! What a way to surprise your father!"

"Dad! I missed you too!" Piper said.

Jason shuffled forward to the front of the room, dragging Leo with him. "Uh, hi, Mr McLean."

"Pipes! Who are these boys?" her dad asked, giving her a look. He didn't remember them, but that was understandable. He did drink that vial of memory loss potion, courtesy of Piper.

"Oh, that's Jason, and that one is Leo." Piper said, giving Jason and Leo a look that said, Come here now. They came forward obligingly.

Piper suddenly wondered if there was such a thing as charmlooking. She would have to look into it.

Jason slipped his hand in hers. Her dad's eyes widened.

"Ah, Pipes. Finally found the one?" he asked knowingly.

Piper blushed. She had always teased her dad about his choice of girlfriends, but now he could get back at her.

***

"Okay. I'm fine with you going to high school. Goode, you say?" Tristian asked.  
"Yep. You sure you're fine?" Piper asked.  
"Yes, absolutely. So how about the other place you've been going to?" he asked.  
"It's more of a camp, actually. And we'll be going there for summer vacation." Piper said.  
Her dad nodded. "I'm not so fine with that, but just make sure to visit occasionally, okay?"  
"Sure, Dad." Piper said.

Piper got up and hugged her dad. Despite everything, this was the longest time she'd ever spent with him. About an hour-a new record! And she was feeling pretty proud of her dad for ignoring all the constant beeping from his BlackBerry.

"Okay, Dad. We've gotta go." Piper said.  
Jason and Leo stood up.  
"Nice meeting you, Mr McLean." Jason said.

Her dad winked. "And make sure all you young ones pay attention in Health class, okay? It's a little early for anyone's parents to become-"

"OKAY DAD. THANK YOU." Piper said loudly. Oh gods. Why did her dad have to embarrass her like that in front of Jason?

Oh. Jason. Piper snuck at look at her poor boyfriend. He was bright red and looking at a spot on the wall.

But, Leo, however, was a completely different story. He was choking back laughter. Leo looked like he was going to burst anytime soon.

***

"Make sure to visit!" Tabitha said, enveloping Leo in a hug.

  
"Yeah, sure. Bye!" Piper said.

All three of the started walking to the chariot. But then Leo gasped.

"It's-it's-gone!" he gasped, pointing.

  
"Leo, stop-" Jason started. Then he stopped abruptly. "It's really gone! He wasn't lying!"

  
"Please." Leo huffed. "The Leo does not lie. He jokes. Tastefully."

  
"So now what do we do?" Piper asked despairingly.

"Your ride's gone, huh?" her dad asked from behind them. He had obviously snuck up behind them without them knowing.

  
"Yeah." Piper sighed. "What are we going to do?"

  
"Well, you want to borrow my private jet?" he asked nonchalantly.

  
"YES! OHMYGODS, YES!" Leo shrieked, jumping up and down. "Um, I mean, yes. Sure. You can lend it to us."

Piper's dad had already whipped out his trusty BlackBerry. As he pressed End Call, he smiled at them.

"The airplane landing pad, 5 minutes." Tristan McLean said.

  
"Time to go, guys! This time for real." Jason said.

  
Piper hugged her dad again. He was wearing some kind of manly cologne, the same scent as usual. She really was going to miss him.

  
"Bye, Dad. Love you."

  
"Love you too, Pipes." her dad replied.

***  
Piper fastened her safety belt and adjusted her luxurious leather seat. Beside her, Jason was bouncing in his seat excitedly. Being in the sky must make him feel good. And in front of her, Leo was fiddling with the remote control of the television. She already had to kick his seat twice for changing the channel too fast.

"This is your captain speaking. We will be reaching Long Island, New York in 30 minutes. Please stay in your seat and keep your safety belt fastened at all times. Thank you." the pilot said over the loudspeaker.

"Well, we better get comfy. Who wants Coca-Cola?" Leo popped the top of the soda can.


	8. Clarisse Takes A Chill Pill

**ANNABETH**  
  
"But are you sure, Percy?" Annabeth asked her boyfriend anxiously. A strand of hair blew into her face, and she pushed it behind her ear impatiently.   
  
Percy laughed, which made her heart go THUMP! It was crazy how that boy never failed to have that effect on her. Even after months of dating, his laugh always made her heart speed up.  
  
"Yes! For the thousandth time, we can just spread a canvas sheet on the sand. Actually, let's spread 3."Percy said, scratching his head sheepishly. Annabeth laughed in turn.  
  
"And you say I over prepare." she teased her boyfriend.  
  
"Hey, I date you, I get Annabeth-ed." Percy said.  
  
Annabeth looked at Percy and hit him. A bubble of emotion rose up in her.  
  
"Ow," Percy said indignantly. "What was that for?"  
  
"A person can't be Annabeth-ed! That's not even a proper word!" Annabeth cried.  
  
"I made it up, Wise Girl." Percy laughed.   
  
"Oh." Annabeth said, a faint pink tinting her cheeks. Percy's (so adorable) green eyes widened.  
  
"Are you blushing, Annabeth?" Percy gasped.  
  
"No!" Annabeth coughed. "I-I-I'm not!"  
  
"Yes, you were, Annabeth! I swear! On the Ri-"  
  
Desperate times called for desperate measure. Although, to be fair, it wasn't desperate. It was something they liked to do anyway.  
  
Annabeth threw her arms around Percy. Completing the action, she kissed him.   
  
Percy tensed for a while, but he eventually kissed her back. When they broke apart, his eyes were slightly unfocused.   
  
"Wha-what were we talking about?" asked Percy sluggishly. "Why do you keep kissing me when I'm winning an argument?"  
  
Annabeth laughed. "Just shut up and kiss me, Percy."  
  
They resumed kissing until they heard the sound of paper crinkling. Then they hastily sprang apart to a gawking audience.  
  
"Oh my gods! Why are you guys here?" Annabeth spluttered.  
  
"You know, last minute preparations." a girl with blond pigtails and and braces said.   
  
"Yeah, and.......basically what Lacy said." Clarisse said, smirking.  
  
"Oh! Mitchell! You still owe me.....two dollars." Lacy said, checking the amount of money in her hand.  
  
An Aphrodite boy sighed, plunged his hand into the pocket of his dark-rinse, low rise, pre-ripped jeans and handed Lacy the money.  
  
"Were you guys.....betting on me and Annabeth?" Percy asked, shock evident in his voice.  
  
"No!" Lacy said, in a fake surprised voice.   
  
Mitchell elbowed her, and she sighed. "All right, we were. On whether Annabeth and you would be kissing when we arrived."  
  
"We've finished setting up. Annabeth, you want to check the area?" Will asked.  
  
Annabeth nodded, hoping they couldn't see the bright pink of her cheeks.  
  
***  
  
"Firewood, check. Backup firewood, check. Emergency backup firewood, check." Annabeth said, checking off items on the clipboard. "And the food?"  
  
"The tables are all set up with the food. We have five ice chests of fizzy drinks, no alcohol. And twenty bags of marshmallows." Miranda Gardner said.  
  
"Okay, that's done. Now-hey! Where's Percy?" Annabeth asked.  
  
"Oh, he's with the Ares cabin, inspecting the weapons and setup for the gladiator games." an Iris girl said brightly.  
  
Annabeth could tell. She was wearing a camp newbie shirt, one of Annabeth's ideas. It was pink and had a unicorn hugging a rainbow on it. On the back were the words 'My Mom Makes Rainbows!'  
  
Not one of their best shirts.  
  
"Is Chiron with them?" asked Annabeth worriedly.   
  
"No." the girl said. "Why?"  
  
"Oh gods. No." said Lou Ellen, pinching her nose. "Someone, go break it up!"  
  
"Break what up?" asked the Iris girl confusedly.  
  
"Is she new?" asked Lou Ellen faintly.   
  
"Yeah! Why?" the girl said.   
  
"She's Louise Parnell." Lacy interjected.   
  
"Well, Louise, since you're new, you're excused." Miranda said.  
  
"I'll go!" Annabeth yelled. She thrust her clipboard at Louise, who took it and then tore across the beach.  
  
❤❤❤  
  
Annabeth was lucky.  
  
The fight among the Ares kids hadn't started yet, but it was starting. Clarisse was holding a wickedly sharp gladius, face contorted in a snarl, to Hans Ruchanon's throat. The big blond guy, in turn was gripping a spatha.   
  
Percy was trying to break it up. His sword, Riptide hadn't been drawn, but his hand was at his pocket. Annabeth knew that he could draw Riptide in a lightning-fast move under a second.  
  
Annabeth quickened her sprint. She unsheathed her Imperial gold dagger, a gift from Reyna. It was almost the same as her old Celestial bronze knife, which was somewhere in Tartarus still. Annabeth missed it.  Luke had given it to her when she was small. After she tried to kill him. (Long story.) The drakon-bone sword Damasen had given to her when she was in Tartarus was gone too-smashed by Porphiyon.   
  
She dashed behind Clarisse and grabbed her shoulders. Just as she'd hoped, Clarisse instantly whirled around and pointed the gladius at Annabeth.  
  
"Whoa." Annabeth said. "Sword down, Clarisse.  
  
"He said he was the best." Clarisse growled, brandishing the sword. Percy knocked it out of her hand with Riptide, quick as lightning.  
  
"No, I didn't!" Hans protested. "I only said that-"  
  
"Clarisse!"  
  
Everyone whirled in the direction of the voice. It was Chris Rodriguez, Clarisse's boyfriend, dashing up the path.   
  
Annabeth instantly relaxed. If anyone could break up Clarisse's fights, it would be Chris.   
  
"Okay, Clarisse. That's enough." Chris said.

  
"He said-" Clarisse started.

  
"Does it really matter what he said?" he asked.

  
"No." Clarisse muttered.  
  
Annabeth shot Chris a silent thank-you. He nodded, acknowledging it.  
  
"Okay, carry on." Annabeth said.


	9. Hazel Sets Stuff On Fire

**HAZEL**  
  
The 21st century was very, very, very weird.  
  
"And this-what is this again?" Hazel asked, looking at the round, puffy, pillow-shaped thing impaled on the stick she was holding.  
  
"It's a marshmallow, Hazel." Leo said impatiently.  
  
Hazel nibbled the marshmallow gingerly. It had a strange spongy texture, but was surprisingly sweet. She liked it.  
  
"Hazel, you're supposed to roast it in the fire." Leo said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, and then it's called a toasted marshmallow." Frank added helpfully.  
  
She frowned. "If it's called a toasted marshmallow, why do you roast it?" she asked, bewildered.  
  
"Just put in the fire." Leo groaned.  
  
Hazel thrust out her arm and the marshmallow sizzled gently in the fire. Then the marshmallow was engulfed in a corona of fire. Fire raced up the stick she was holding.  
  
"Aaaaaah!" Hazel screamed, terrified. She waved the burning marshmallow in the air frantically. The stick slipped out of her grasp and sailed through the night air towards the sea. But not before igniting a sleeping kid's pants.  
  
The kid snored on.  
  
"Good one!" laughed a brown haired boy, bounding over. "No one's lit Clovis's pants on fire before!"  
  
"Hey, Stoll." Leo said, standing up and dusting his pants. He clapped his hand on the boy's shoulder appreciately.  
  
"I'm Travis Stoll, and the slightly less handsome demigod behind you is Connor." the boy said easily.  
  
Hazel looked behind her shoulder and shrieked a little. An devillish-looking face was right behind her.  
  
The owner of the face fell down on the sand, laughing hard. Eventually, he straightened up and stopped laughing.   
  
"Here. Have another one." Connor said,  holding a marshmallow up to Hazel.  
  
"No!" Leo lunged at Connor, knocking the marshmallow out his hand. It fell and burst on the sand, splattering Connor's flip-flop with a brown substance.  
  
"Mud." Travis said in response to Frank's revolted look.    
  
"Salty-sweet mud." Connor added. "We added in some sea-salt and refined sugar."  
  
***  
  
"So, this?" Hazel asked. Her head was spinning more and more. Leo and Frank had taught her so much stuff during the party, but she suspected they weren't really the best people to. Demigods weren't really the most up-to-date people, since technology went crazy around them.  
  
"Gummy worm." Leo said patiently, although his expression indicated otherwise.  
  
"Have you seen Percy and Annabeth?" asked Hazel.  
  
"Over there, by the water." Frank indicated with his chin.   
  
Percy and Annabeth were having what looked like an intense discussion. Percy was chewing his lip, his brow wrinkled. He looked agitated, and seemed to be worried about something. Annabeth appeared exasperated. She was comforting Percy, patting his arm. As Hazel watched, Annabeth threw up her arms, pointed at Percy and threw up her arms again. Percy said something and Annabeth leant forward swiftly. She beckoned him to come forward,  and Percy did, slowly. Annabeth whispered something into Percy's ear and then kissed him. And he kissed back, eagerly.  
  
Hazel shuddered slightly. She wasn't used to such open displays of affection yet.  
  
And suddenly the night went BOOM!


	10. Sorry, No Rats

**HAZEL**  
  
The light was blindingly white and, surprisingly, cool.  
  
"Aaah!" she shrieked when the light cleared and smoke disappeared. It revealed the figure of a slender man holding a disturbingly familiar-looking staff. The man stepped forward into the light. He had salt-and pepper hair, elfin features and a familiar smile. Where had she seen it before?  
  
Ah. Yes. The Stoll twins. Which meant that the man was-  
  
"Hermes! Messenger of the gods, here to deliver a message." the man said cheerfully. "Now, may the Seven of the last Great Prophecy please step forward?"  
  
Hazel swallowed. She felt something touching her fingers and realized it was Frank, fumbling for her hand. A wave of a certain warm feeling rose up in her, and she gladly took it. Hazel and Frank rose together from the log, and started making their way towards Hermes. Behind her she was vaguely aware of Leo walking behind them with slow, shuffling steps.  
  
At last, after what seemed like an eternity, all of them-the Seven were standing in front of Hermes.   
  
"All right, here. I believe Zeus told you of your new 'home'?" asked Hermes, touching the collar of his jogging suit lightly. They nodded mechanically.  
  
"You are to view it tomorrow. Here are the keys, for each of you." Hermes said. "George? Martha?" He shook his staff-a cadaceus-lightly, and the two long things curled around it started moving fluidly. Snakes.  
  
 _Hi, demigods. Oh, hi again, Percy. Did you bring me any rats?_ asked a snake. Hazel did a double take before realizing that the snake was speaking in their minds.  
  
 _Shhh. Don't pay any attention to him. He's just hungry because he hasn't eaten yet. I'm Martha. That's my husband, George._ the other snake said.  
  
 _Yes, George wants rats. Got any? Sharing is good._ the snake called George said.  
  
"Quiet, you two. Now, the keys, please." Hermes said sternly. Martha opened her mouth and spat out rectangular shaped things at each of them. Hazel caught hers. The object was attached to a metal ring with a key dangling from it.  
  
"It's a keycard." Leo whispered, nudging her. "The key is the card."  
  
Hazel frowned. Like she said, confusing. And very peculiar. A card, a key? She would make Leo explain to her later.  
  
"And the IDs, please." Hermes said, shaking the cadaceus. George and Martha shuddered, whispering _Stop. Stop._ George opened his mouth, and belched out a brown paper-wrapped parcel. Hermes took it and handed it to Percy, who took it with no trace of hesitance. They had met before, realized Hazel. It would explain why George said hi to Percy.  
  
"The rest of the necessary belongings required will be in your penthouse apartment. Allowances will be given daily by your godly parent in whatever way they wish. Annabeth Chase, your mother wishes you the best of luck in your academic pursuits, and wants you to know that she is counting on you. And, Percy Jackson, I have letters from Poseidon and Athena for you. Sign here, please." Hermes rattled off, producing a clipboard from thin air and handing it to Percy. His cadaceus morphed into a pen with George and Martha curled around it like some extra-special grip. Percy signed his name on the two sheets of paper on the clipboard hurriedly. Hermes took back his pen when he was done. He handed Percy 2 letters, one in a blue envelope and another in a cream-white envelope.  
  
"Can't have anyone taking my pen again. Curse those people who never return a messenger's pen! We're just doing our job. With no extra cost. All you have to do it return the pen." Hermes muttered irritably to himself.  
  
Jason cleared his throat loudly. "Is that all, Lord Hermes?"  
  
Hermes looked up, startled. "No...wait. One more thing." He snapped his fingers, and a white light beamed up from the ground beside him. A figure began taking shape in the light, and when the light faded a girl was standing there.  
  
The girl straightened up, blinking. Hazel studied the girl. She had long, bluntly-cut blonde hair that spilled across her shoulders. Bright electric blue streaked her hair, matching her eyes. The girl was about the same height as Leo, which meant she was short.   
  
"Demigods, I introduce Gwendolyn Harper. Daughter of Apollo, the god of music and the Sun, master of archery, the great healer, patron of the oracle Delphi, and, _ahem_ , god of poetry. Hail, Gwendolyn Harper." Hermes announced.  
  
"Hail, Gwendolyn Harper." echoed the whole camp, rising and bowing their heads respectfully.  
  
Gwendolyn Harper stepped forward. The fire cast light on her, and her outfit. Hazel could see the Aphrodite girls scruntinizing it, a fitted black shirt with graffiti splashed on it and skinny jeans that fit amazingly well. On her feet were a pair of well-worn black combat boots.  
  
"One last thing, before I go. My children?" Hermes boomed.

All the Hermes campers hastily sat up.

"Good job. Keep it up." said Hermes, grinning widely. He winked at them and vanished.   
  
 _Goodbye._ whispered Martha.

  
 _Make sure there are rats next time._ George hissed, dissolving into thin air.  
  
***  
  
"So. Hullo, all you lot." Gwendolyn Harper said easily, chomping her gum.  
  
All the campers seemed to inhale at once.  
  
" _She's British_." Leo mouthed at her.  
  
That would explain the accent.


	11. How To Jack A Leo

**LEO**  
  
Weirded out.  
  
That's how Leo felt looking at the new girl.  
  
Gwendolyn was everything he liked in a girl-smoking hot, bold, confident. Before everything had happened, he would've fallen head over heels for Gwendolyn. Boom! Leo in love.  
  
But, now, after meeting Calypso on Ogygia and falling in love with her, he felt nothing for Gwendolyn. No love. That was weird. Except for the normal friendship love. Because the girl was pretty dang cool, after all.   
  
It was good, and bad, Leo reflected as he lay in his bunk in the Hephaestus cabin for the first time in ages.   
  
After the whole _hail, daughter of Apollo_ thing, the campers had rushed forward to Gwendolyn. Apparently it was because of the whole British thing. The boys found her hot, and the girls found Gwendolyn charming. As soon as Chiron got the campers to back up, Will Solace had offered, as head counselor of the Apollo cabin, to show Gwendolyn around. Gwendolyn agreed instantly, but Chiron insisted it be done tomorrow, as it was late. So Gwendolyn crashed in the Apollo cabin instantly. Hard day fighting monsters for her, before being found by Apollo and handed over to the care of Hermes.   
  
The good? Leo wouldn't become a flaming mess in front of Gwendolyn. He wouldn't try to do something, like, build Gwendolyn a automaton to be her personal assistant only for it to become an axe-flinging robot.   
  
The bad? It proved that he was really in love with Calypso. Leo couldn't fall in love with any other girls anymore.  
  
Well, it was the world's loss. Leo Valdez was off the market. For good.   
  
Leo sat up abruptly. He tossed his blankets off, and jumped off his bunk. As usual, he was in his private room below the cabin. With a few special additions by Leo himself. One just added moments before.  
  
Leo ran his fingers over the thin piece of paper gently. It crinkled under his touch. The face of Calypso stared back at him. He touched her cheek softly.  
  
"I'll come for you someday, Calypso." Leo said. "We will meet again."  
  
***  
  
The moment Leo's head hit the pillow, waves of sleep washed over him instantly and he started dreaming.  
  
Dang, that was weird.   
  
But it just got weirder.  
  
In his dream, a guy was staring at him. He looked like the dude from the Matrix, all slicked-back hair and long black coat.  
  
"You don't look like much. What does the lady see in you, asking me to put you to sleep so she can send you a dream?" the man muttered.  
  
"W-what? Dude, I-"   
  
"It doesn't matter. Best to send you there as soon as possible, before she gets mad." the man said.   
  
The dream shifted and Leo found himself in another place.  
  
He was in a small, dimly-lit place that smelled like roasting coffee beans. The armchair he was sitting in was fairly comfortable, and so was the atmosphere. A smiling person stood at a nearby counter. Across the table from him, a lady perched gracefully on an armchair, sipping a coffee.  
  
She was gorgeous. No, that wasn't doing her any justice. She was breathtakingly stunning, but in his opinion, not as beautiful as Calypso. He couldn't get a fix on her appearance, as her features changed constantly. Her flame-red hair changed into coppery gold curls, and her green eyes turned the color of verdigris.   
  
He'd never met her before in his life, but his friends had talked about a goddess of this description before.  
  
Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.  
  
"Leo Valdez." Aphrodite mused. "Such an interesting boy."  
  
"Uh, are you Aphrodite?" Leo blurted.  
  
Her laugh sounded like the tinkling of bells, a sound only slightly less melodious than Calypso's laughter.  
  
"Of course I am, dear boy. Now, let's make this quick, shall we? Ares is due to be back any minute now." Aphrodite said. "This is concerning the matter of the, ah, _minor_ request you made on Olympus."  
  
"The tr-true love thing?" Leo coughed out.  
  
Aphrodite frowned. "Here, have something to drink. Don't want you getting sick just before-" she squealed and clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh, silly me. Mustn't ruin the surprise!"  
  
"What surprise?" Leo asked warily. But Aphrodite just smiled, her hair turning as black as night and her blue eyes sparkling.   
  
"Nothing. Have some coffee." She indicated the waxed paper cup sitting on the table, filled with steaming liquid. "It's a latte, with whipped cream."   
  
Leo took the cup and sipped some. It was good, he realized with surprise.  
  
"Leo Valdez, you wished for true love. And you are destined for that. Despite that attitude, a kind, loyal person lurks beneath." Aphrodite said seriously. "You have faced many trials in your love life. But do not mourn anymore, because your time of sorrow is up. Love will find you, very soon."  
  
"Okay." Leo said, freaked out. "Is this why you jacked my dream? To tell me that love is coming?"  
  
"It has always been, dear boy."   
  
"Then why did I have to go through so much?" he demanded.  
  
Aphrodite laughed gently. "Sorrow comes before joy, Leo Valdez."  
  
Leo had so many questions for Aphrodite, but before he could ask any, he heard the roar of a motorbike in the distance. Aphrodite's eyes widened.  
  
"Ares comes. You must go before he sees you. Goodbye, Leo Valdez." Aphrodite said, waving her hand elegantly.  
  
Leo's dream dissolved, and the last thing he saw was a mane of caramel-colored hair.


	12. Jason, Mr Know-It-All

**JASON**  
  
"What's wrong?" Nico di Angelo asked Jason the next morning at the Zeus table. Since they were all alone in their cabins, he, Percy, and Nico shared a table.  
  
Beside him Percy demolished a heaping stack of blue waffles. That guy could eat more than a starved satyr. And Jason still didn't understand Percy's love for blue food.  
  
A blond Apollo guy, Will Solace walked past their table. He ruffled Nico's hair, good boyfriend that he was. Nico frowned slightly and turned. He blushed when he saw Will walking away. It was awesome how Nico had gotten a boyfriend already. And the fact that he'd decided to stay at camp. The redecorating for the Hades cabin was going very well. It looked less like a vampire's lair by the minute.  
  
"Yeah. What's wrong?" Percy asked Jason through a mouthful of blue waffles.   
  
"What do you guys mean, what's wrong? Nothing is wrong." said Jason, mildly annoyed.  
  
"You've had that frown on your face since we saw you this morning. Usually you're either Mr Sunshine or Professor Grace." Percy noted, cocking his head.  
  
"Tell, us, Jason. It's not good holding in your feelings for too long. And trust me on this. I speak from personal experience." Nico said, poking at an egg on his plate.   
  
"Okay, fine. It's because of that new girl and Leo." said Jason.  
  
Instantly, their heads swiveled to the Apollo table, where Gwendolyn Harper sat with her brothers and sisters, laughing and sharing useful bits of information. As they watched, Gwendolyn waved and grinned at someone at the main table. Hazel. Both of them had really hit it off last night, what with Gwendolyn deciding to take over as Hazel's teacher in her education of current topics. She was the best choice for it, seeing as she was new and fresh out of the mortal world.  
  
"What about them? Leo seems normal." Nico frowned.  
  
"That is the problem. Leo should be in love with her. She's exactly his type." Jason said. "He should be all goofy and stuff. But he's all.....normal."   
  
"Um...yeah. About that." Percy said, shifting uncomfortably. "I kinda need to tell you something. During the Titan War, during the Battle of the Labyrinth, I sort of...disappeared. Everyone thought I was dead. Actually I was-"  
  
"On the Titan Atlas's daughter, Calypso's magical island home of Ogygia where she nursed you back to health and fell in love with you but you came back to save the world." Jason rattled off.  
  
Percy and Nico stared at him.  
  
"Yeah. Everyone kind of knows because it's supposed to be secret." said Jason.  
  
"Oh-kay. Anyway...wait! Everyone?" Percy choked on his juice.  
  
"Yes. Annabeth told Piper during one of her _I-Miss-Percy-So-Much_ moments. She talks a lot about you guys then." Nico said. "And then Piper told Jason, and then everyone heard."  
  
"Well, I guess that's okay. The point is, Leo met and fell in love with Calypso. And she also fell in love with him."  
  
"Percy? We also...kind of already know that." Jason said nervously.  
  
"Okay! You guys are like that old dude, Phineas! But what I mean is, Leo's in love with Calypso. So when he fell in love-"  
  
"Leo automatically became unable to love another person. He was in love already." Nico finished quietly.  
  
"What you guys basically mean is, Leo's taken?" Jason asked.  
  
"Yeah. That." Percy said.  
  
Across the dining pavilion, Piper stood up. Annabeth and the others were already standing at the side, waiting.  
  
"C'mon, slowpokes! We've got to go." Piper called out loudly to Jason and Percy.  
  
"Let's go, Grace. Bye, Nico." Percy said, standing up and shoving one last blue waffle in his mouth.


	13. Annabeth Like Window

**PIPER**  
  
"Thanks." Piper said cheerfully to the cab driver. He grunted and drove off. Typical New York cab driver behavior.  
  
Jason slipped his hand in hers and craned his head to look at the tall building in front of them. The sunlight reflected off his glasses, sending a blinding flash at the back of Percy's head.  
  
"Fancy." Leo grinned.  
  
"Fancy? It's-it's-beautiful! It's magnificent! It's-" cried Frank.  
  
"An architectural wonder." breathed Annabeth, awed. "The structure! The fixings! The alignment of the windows!"  
  
"Um. Yeah. Awesome windows." Percy said, before Annabeth could start talking about the window glazing and beams. Piper had asked Annabeth about architecture before, and she had talked about diagrams and blueprints until Piper had trouble keeping her eyes open.  
  
Seriously. She loved Annabeth, but she would be a good bedtime story.  
  
"The Mantello Building." Piper read from the shiny plaque beside the door and the snazzily dressed doorman. She looked up at the building again, hardly daring to believe that they were going to live there. She hadn't been in a lot of places like this, since her dad never took her with him on his movie tours.   
  
"Leo, you sure you read the map correctly?" Hazel asked.   
  
"Yes. And the keycard says: The Mantello Building." Leo said.  
  
The Mantello Building was very modern-looking, a structure made of steel and glass. It stretched upwards, the bright sunshine hitting it and flashing a blinding ray of light in Piper's eyes. There were lots of glass windows built into it, and the top floor had balconies. The building curved gently near the top, making it slightly S-shaped.  
  
"Well. Let's go in!" Percy said. He planted his foot on the white-brick doorstep and the doorman moved, quick as lightning.  
  
"Excuse me, young sir, but you need to be either a resident or an authorized visitor to enter." said the doorman.  
  
"No prob, dude. I got this." Leo said, giving the doorman a smile. "We are residents."  
  
"You all-residents?" the doorman smiled coldly.   
  
Piper instantly knew that she disliked the doorman very, very, much.  
  
"We are-Ryan, is it?" asked Leo, looking at the doorman's gold nametag, which really read Reynolds. "We have proof." He whipped out his key card and held it under Reynolds's pointy nose.  
  
Reynolds took the key card and examined it carefully. When his eyes passed over the words 'Penthouse' they bulged out unattractively. Piper felt like summoning magic makeup for this guy.  
  
"My sincerest apologies, sir. Welcome to the Mantello Building." Reynolds said while flashing a smile and opening the door.  
  
***  
  
"Whoa." Frank breathed, once they'd stepped inside the lobby.  
  
The lobby was all white marble and dark wood. White couches populated the room. A flat-screen plasma television was placed in front of each cluster of couches. Behind the dark wooden desk at the front sat a smiling lady in a black suit. A crystal chandelier sparkled softly overhead in the warm light.  
  
"Where's the elevator?" asked Annabeth  
  
"There." Leo pointed to a corridor leading off of the lobby. They walked into it and found another beautifully decorated room. A wooden table holding a ceramic vase of flowers was placed between two elevators. Another crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling.  
  
"Close your mouths and press the button already!" cried Leo.   
  
Hazel pressed the UP button hesitatingly. The button lit up green and the numbers displayed above the metal door started decreasing rapidly.  
  
The stainless steel doors of the elevator slid open soundlessly. Piper stepped in first, because she was the least awed of them all.  
  
Inside the elevator was an elevator operator, wearing a similar uniform to Reynolds, except shinier. His whole self seemed to smile when he saw them.  
  
"Ahhh! Welcome to the Mantello Building! Please,  monsieurs, mademoiselles, enter. I am André. Andrew in your American." He bowed slightly.  
  
The rest of her friends in the elevator seemed to perk up a little at this cheery French elevator operator man. André looked about thirty-ish. He had shiny, greased back, black hair like the guys in one of her housekeeper Tabitha's favorite movie. _Please_? _Peace_? _Cheese_? Oh, _Grease_. Yep, that was it.  
  
The doors closed. Piper looked around at the interior. Red carpet, mirrored walls, marble top and air-conditioning. The whole apartment building was more like a hotel.  
  
"Which floor?" André asked cheerily.   
  
"Uhhh..." Jason stammered.  
  
"Here's the key card." Piper said.  
  
"Penthouse? This is on the 30th floor." Andrè said, checking the card. He beeped the card against a scanner and pressed the button labeled '30'.  
  
"Your key card, mademoiselle." he said, bowing.  
  
Leo grinned. "Hey, Andy, look at my key card. Is it, um, normal?"  
  
Andrè took Leo's key card and looked at it intently. "It is _pairfait_ , monsieur. Here you go." He bowed to Leo.  
  
"Ow." Leo said. He shot Hazel a look, rubbing the side of his ribcage.  
  
A ringing sound rang through the elevator. The doors slid open.   
  
"We are here, monsieurs, mademoiselle. Please, welcome to the Mantello Building." Andrè smiled. He bowed once more.


	14. Apollo Is So Funny

**PERCY**  
  
Intimidated.  
  
That's how Percy felt, but he didn't say it. He wasn't used to this kind of luxury. Heck, he couldn't believe that he was going to stay in this building! And in the penthouse, no less. The most luxurious place he'd been in was the old rundown cabin on Montauk, where his mom had met his dad. (It would've been a vacation house in the Carribean but he had to go and blow up a cruise ship full of monsters.)  
  
As Piper beeped the key card on the door scanner, Percy tightened his hand around Annabeth's. She made him feel safer and less awkward about himself.   
  
Then the door opened. Percy's mouth opened along with it.   
  
Their penthouse was extremely fancy, but it was nothing like the rest of their building. Their building was mostly made of marble. Their penthouse's floor was made up of squares of dark timber wood; steel beams crisscrossed the ceiling. A large brushed-steel-and-wood staircase spiraled up to the upper floor.   
  
Percy managed to clamp his mouth shut and step inside, dragging Annabeth with him. His girlfriend's eyes were wide and she was muttering something about load-bearing joints. The others weren't much better, either. Jason's mouth was hanging wide open enough to catch a monster; Hazel was blinking rapidly, Frank was literally using his finger to push up his jaw. Leo's eyes were maniacally wide. Percy feared he would try 'renovating' in here. Piper was the only one among them all who was acting normally. Probably because her dad was a Hollywood actor so she had gotten a little used to luxury.  
  
A giant flat screen television hung on the wall of the living room. The back of it was floor-to-ceiling windows that let the bright sunlight pour in. Some couches, a coffee table and a armchair rested on a plush white carpet in front of the windows.  
  
A low laugh sounded from Leo. "Check this out! Never let us forget, huh?"   
  
Percy looked where Leo was pointing. He saw an oil painting of Mount Olympus, complete with the palace of the gods, and with some golden dots of light floating near it.   
  
Annabeth picked up the artist tag to inspect it. "By A. P. Low." she read.  
  
Leo snorted. "It's so obvious. Monsieur Zhang, want to guess?"  
  
"A. P. Low. Apollo. The god of art, among other things." Frank said.  
  
The painting was pretty good. Nothing like Apollo's poetry. The golden sunlight filtering through the celestial clouds looked so real, Percy could almost feel the heat.  
  
"They really want us to remember that we're still demigods." Hazel noted.  
  
"Enough lollygagging, my children. Uncle Leo wants to check out the bedrooms!" 


	15. Time For The Real Estate Tour

**ANNABETH**  
  
Annabeth couldn't quite wrap her head around the splendid architecture.  
  
She loved the way the building curved slightly at the top. She loved the way the arches in the lobby curved. She loved the way the windows were aligned.   
  
As Annabeth and her friends climbed the staircase, her mind raked in more things about the design. The way the metal beams arched above them- ingenious!   
  
Jason closed his hand around the doorknob of the first door on the left they found. He smiled at them. "Want to guess whose this is?"  
  
"Leo." Piper volunteered.  
  
"Frank." Jason said. He twisted the knob.  
  
***  
  
"It's Hazel's." Leo said.   
  
The room was spacious and normal-shaped. A queen-sized bed lay against the wall. A wooden door next to a window presumably led to the bathroom. One of those ergonomically designed wheelie chairs was pushed in neatly into the desk space. The desk itself was wooden and came stocked with stationery. There was a drawing desk, tilted at an angle and a matching high chair. But that wasn't the most outstanding feature of the room. The wall decorations were. Framed drawings, paintings, charcoal sketches and crayon outlines hung on the cream colored walls. All of them had a distinct style-Hazel's. Annabeth had seen some of Hazel's artwork before, but she was still amazed.  
  
"Hazel...this...this is really good!" Jason exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah. How come you never told?" questioned Piper. "I mean, you did tell us that you liked drawing, but you forgot to say that you freaking rocked!"  
  
Hazel was staring around her room, open mouthed. Her gold eyes were wide with disbelief and shock.  
  
"I-I don't...How did these get here?" Hazel stammered. "They're in the ship!"  
  
Annabeth turned to the nearest framed artwork. It was a simple watercolor of a Mardi Gras carnival, but the masterful strokes and vibrant colors brought the scene to life.   
  
"Maybe the person who designed this place." she said.  
  
"Is there a god of interior design?" Percy asked.  
  
Annabeth gave Percy a look.  
  
"Nope. Didn't think so."  
  
***  
  
The opposite room belonged to Frank.  
  
The bed was already made neatly, with tight corners. A mirror was fixed above a wooden chest of drawers. Two of the walls were painted olive green. One whole section was dedicated to Frank Zhang's achievements. His award certificates were displayed neatly next to a trophy case brimming with shiny trophies. A row of medals hung, gleaming in the light.  
  
"Wow. Spelling bee awards? Nice, man." Leo said. "Really making the most out of your non-dyslexic condition."  
  
Frank blushed.  
  
"Well, you get dyslexia, he gets lactose intolerance. You get ice cream, he gets spelling awards. Deal with it." Piper said.  
  
"The Mural Crown looks great hanging here! Maybe your other medal, the one you got for..." Hazel launched into an inventory of Frank's medals, talking about where they should go.  
  
Annabeth was impressed. Frank Zhang didn't seem much like the spelling bee type, but she'd learned long ago not to judge a book by it's cover.   
  
***  
  
Percy's room was right next door to Frank's.  
  
The bed was covered with a blue comforter. A mini fridge had been placed next to it. The bedside table had a blue lamp and a heaping stack of manga books on it. The wall behind Percy's bed was covered with photos, posters and signs. There was also a neon blue blinking arrow among them. Percy's surfboard and skateboard were propped up against the wall.  
  
"Hey, my surfboard!" Percy cried, bounding over to it. "And my skateboard!"  
  
"Sweet!" Jason said. "You ride goofy or regular?"  
  
While the boys started talking skateboard talk, Annabeth turned her gaze to a photograph of her and her Seaweed Brain. It had been taken shortly after the Titan War. In the photograph, she was laughing a a joke Percy had just told her. He was looking at her with an expression she feared to put a name to. She turned away from the photograph, her heart racing.  
  
***  
  
The room opposite Percy's turned out to be hers.  
  
It was kind of obvious. Bookshelves and bookcases dominated the room. Her room even had a computerized SMART board, just like the one in the Athena cabin! The wall her desk was pushed up against was a pale blue, because blue was a calming color that had been proven to stimulate the brain. Her desk was considerably larger than the others. And on it was-  
  
"A new laptop!" Annabeth cried, running over to it.  
  
The laptop had a symbol on it, the Ancient Greek delta. It looked exactly like the Daedalus laptop she'd owned, but that was impossible. It had fallen into Tartarus, and was probably still lying somewhere in there, broken. Unless a really hungry monster had eaten it, of course.  
  
Annabeth turned it over, hardly daring to believe it. This one was brand-new, but it was a Daedalus laptop, for sure. All the programs and apps were on it.  
  
She hadn't noticed it before, but there was a cream envelope lying next to it. Annabeth picked it up. Her name was written on it in a bold but elegant hand. It could only be one person's. Athena's. She'd seen it on the envelope of the letter Hermes had given Percy. The envelope opened easily, with a silver letter opener she found in the drawer. With shaking hands, she unfolded the letter.  
  
 _Dear Annabeth,_  
This new laptop is for you. It had somehow survived the fire in Daedalus's workshop. I could've kept it, but I felt you deserved it. You have made me proud, Annabeth. You alone succeeded where all my other children failed. My mind was freed from the madness that had plagued me ever since the Greek-Roman schism began.   
I did not manage to tell do this at the Parthenon, but...thank you, my daughter. You have proven yourself as a truly wise and strong child of Athena. I am proud of you.   
  
Athena  
  
Her eyes focused on the words: I am proud of you. When she refolded the paper and slid it back into its envelope, her eyes were blurred.   
  
She turned to see Percy at her side. He was smiling at her. And as he pulled her towards him for a kiss, her friends turned away awkwardly and started admiring a blueprint.  
  
***  
  
Piper's room was right next to Annabeth's.  
  
The curtains were drawn, and the room was dark. What they saw made them catch their breath.  
  
The ceiling of Piper's room looked like the night sky, covered with beautiful, shining stars. Ancient constellations like Orion, Hercules, Pegasus and more were visible. It was amazing. The mural on her ceiling could almost pass for the night sky, as if a little bit had been cut out and attached to the ceiling.   
  
"Stars? H-how-" stammered Piper.   
  
Leo reached for the light switch and turned it on, making the stars disappear. It was just a regular white ceiling now.   
  
Now that her attention wasn't completely taken up by the stars, Annabeth looked around Piper's room. It was regular enough, except her room had a bigger wardrobe and a fully stocked makeup table.  
  
Frank flipped the switch again. The magical night sky on Piper's ceiling returned.   
  
"I read about this." Annabeth said. "They call this Starscapes®.  A special kind of paint is used, Creation Paint™. It contains rare earth phosphors that are used to create an illusion of the night sky, which is only visible in the darkness."  
  
"Trust Annabeth to know." laughed Percy. His arm was still around her shoulders.  
  
"So many constellations! There's Hercules, Pegasus, Ursula Major..." Frank started.  
  
Percy nudged Annabeth gently. His expression was pensive. "Look, Annabeth." She followed his eyes to a constellation. The Huntress. A constellation of a girl shooting an arrow.  
  
"Zoë Nightshade." she said. "I'll never forget her."  
  
***  
  
Jason's room was opposite Piper's.  
  
He had one of those bunk beds in his room, the one for only one person. The top bunk was the actual bed, which was had all the normal bed stuff, like a comforter and pillows. The lower bunk was a couch. A desk and wheelie chair occupied the space beside the bed. Two electric guitars hung on the wall. An amplifier sat in the corner of the room.   
  
"Dude! You never told us you played!" Leo said huffily.  
  
"I, um, well, I guess I forgot." Jason said. "Literally."  
  
He lifted a guitar off the wall and strummed a few notes. The notes rang through the room, off-pitched and dissonant. They winced.  
  
"Jason, I guess you forgot that you can't actually play the guitar!" Leo laughed.  
  
"Maybe they're just here for decoration!" Piper tried brightly, putting some charmspeak in her voice. Jason's hunched up shoulders relaxed, even if it was just a little.  
  
"Or maybe," Jason said, glaring at the guitar like it was the poor guitar's fault, "I have to learn."  
  
"These chests," Percy said, "have been in every room." He pointed at a wooden chest, and sure enough, Annabeth realized that they had been in every room.  
  
Percy was could be really obtuse sometimes. Like once during a capture-the-flag game before the Titan War. Annabeth had been  helping him walk/limp along after his shoe got burned off by acid. (They had been fighting giant red ants and a berserk bronze dragon. Long story.) After the ants had been driven away and the dragon deactivated, Charles Beckendorf had asked Silena Beauregard to the annual Fourth of July fireworks event, a.k.a. the biggest dating event of the year. Silena accepted. Annabeth then gave Percy a compliment, and then he'd mentioned the fireworks. She thought he was going to ask her, after he'd 'um'-ed, but then her siblings had popped in. Annabeth got a little angry and put Percy and Beckendorf in jail. But then she'd summoned up some courage, turned around, winked at Percy, and asked him to the fireworks. She ran away after her siblings into the woods really fast. As she ran, she heard Percy ask behind her, "Did she just...ask me out?"  
  
Annabeth had wanted to laugh and strangle him at the same time, only she wasn't sure which to do first.  
  
But Percy was actually pretty intelligent. She wondered if he acted dumb sometimes just to annoy her.  
  
"Let's see what's inside." Piper said. She walked over to the chest and lifted the lock.   
  
"Oh!" Piper exclaimed.  
  
"What is it, beauty queen?" Leo asked.   
  
"Weapons."   
  
Annabeth went to the chest and looked at it. Sure enough, it was filled with weapons. Among them, two gladius, a knife, a dagger and darts.   
  
"I guess they're probably for us in emergencies." Percy said.  
  
Once again, spot on. Seriously, did he act annoying just to irritate her?  
  
"Emergencies." Leo echoed. "What kind?"  
  
***  
  
And the last room, the one next to Jason's, belonged to (no prizes for guessing) Leo.  
  
His room looked like a machine shop. Basically, it was the Hephaestus cabin, except instead of steel bunks, there was a big bed. Bulletin boards were mounted on the walls, some already covered with blueprints and schematics. Power tools lined the walls; screws, nails and springs were placed neatly on workbenches. Annabeth was sure that they would be messed up quickly enough. Toolboxes were arranged on metal shelves reinforced with celestial bronze screws. In  corner of the room, an unlit forge rested. A large worktable gleamed, free of grease and dirt.  
  
"This...place...is...AWESOME!" Leo cried. He turned a full 360° degrees looking at the room.  
  
Annabeth looked at the desk that accompanied the room. "Well, the desk is nice enough. Plenty of space to do homework and revision."  
  
"What-you're kidding right? Oh, wait. Yeah, sure. Homework, revision. Fun, fun."  
  
"It's 8.00am." Frank announced.  
  
"Now that we've seen the penthouse, we can go back to Camp Half-Blood!" said Hazel brightly, smiling.   
  
"Wait. We need to dump our stuff in our rooms." Jason said.  
  
"Oh! Yeah! They're still in the living room." said Frank.  
  
***   
  
After their bags were in their rooms and they had (sort of) unpacked, they gathered in the living room. The boys crashed on the couch with Cokes.  
  
Annabeth stood up from her seat.  
  
"Okay, that's over with. Back to Camp Half-Blood. We have the gladiator games and capture-the-flag!"  
  
The Greeks whooped loudly while the Romans looked at each other, smiling.  
  
"Yes! Let's go! But Percy's hailing the cab." Leo said.  
  
"Why?" asked Percy.  
  
"You have a good pair of lungs, monsieur. Perfect for a New York cab whistle!"


	16. What A Mist-ake

**HAZEL**  
  
Hazel ran across the wood clearing as silently as she could. She ducked behind a tree, breathing hard.  
  
They were playing capture-the-flag. It was Athena versus Ares yet again. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hermes, Hephaestus and Hecate were Athena's allies. Aphrodite, Demeter, Nike, Dionysus and Apollo were Ares's. Frank sided with his Greek siblings, so Hazel sided with Nico.  
  
Hazel was on defense. Frank was on offense. She had heard the trumpeting of Frank the elephant a few times already. Hazel had been patrolling the right flank when she got attacked by dandelions. She managed to cause the ground to rip apart and struggle free. A couple of Nike campers then charged out of the bushes, expecting one tied-up Hazel Levesque. Instead they found a very un-tied up Roman centurion. The Nike campers got a faceful of jewels instead.   
  
Hazel didn't actually mean to knock them out. Or give one a black eye. But hey, accidents happened, right?  
  
A rustling came from the bushes. Hazel positioned her calvary sword. The Apollo head counselor, Will Solace emerged. The flat of her sword came down on Will's head, effectively stunning him. Will fell to the ground. (Nico _was_ dating him but that didn't mean she had to go easy on him.) Then an arrow appeared out of nowhere, slicing through the air with a sharp sound and knocking the sword out of her hand. It clattered to the ground.  
  
Gwendolyn Harper stood at the edge of the clearing, wearing a smirk. A quiver of arrows was slung over her back and an another arrow already nocked in her bow.  
  
"Don't move." she enunciated clearly.  
  
Despite the situation, Hazel still felt hopeful. She had one more thing, another power that might help her. Hazel closed her eyes. She imagined herself as Gwendolyn Harper. What would Gwendolyn Harper want to see the most?    
  
"You know, Gwendolyn-" she started.  
  
"Gwen."   
  
"Gwen. You think you've got me? You're right."  
  
An arrow appeared in Hazel's chest. She collapsed, slightly woozy. Hazel hadn't tried anything like this before. Her energy wavered.  
  
"Oh gods." Gwen rushed over, dropping her bow. She touched the arrow in Hazel's chest. Hazel concentrated on keeping the arrow solid.  
  
"I-I did this? But how...I didn't fire my arrow..."  
  
"You didn't." Hazel said. She rose unsteadily, swaying a little. Her sword was in her hand, pointed at Gwen. The arrow in her chest dissolved.  
  
Gwen gasped. "You tricked me! How-" She looked around for her bow frantically. She wouldn't be able to find it. Hazel had concealed it with Mist.  
  
"I win." Hazel said with a small smile. Triumph surged through her.   
  
She whacked Gwen unceremoniously with the flat of her sword. Gwen crumpled to the ground, as motionless as a rag doll.  
  
Suddenly a loud whooping sounded from the other side of the woods. Travis Stoll charged through the trees, followed by his brother and some other Hermes kids'. He held a white silk flag embroidered with a caduceus high in the air.  
  
"Levesque!" Connor yelled. He grabbed his brother's hand, brandishing the flag. "Hermes won! Let's go!"  
  
"How about these two?" Hazel asked, indicating them. Will stirred slightly, muttering something about doctor's orders.  
  
Travis grinned. "You got Will? Cool! And the hot new British chick too."  
  
"You know what I think we should do?" Connor asked, tapping his chin thoughtfully.  
  
"I know! And you know too."  
  
"Let's spare Gwen." Hazel said. She felt a little bad for tricking her like that.  
  
Connor shrugged. "They're your captures." He pulled out a black Sharpie from his pocket and began doodling on Will's face.  
  
***  
  
Capture-the-flag went quite well, at least in Hazel's opinion.  
  
Percy, Jason and Nico had teamed up and formed a killer(not literally) team. Annabeth's strategy won the game. Piper knocked a lot of people out. So did Frank.  
  
But the look on Nico's face when he saw his boyfriend? Priceless.


	17. We Meet The Friendly Neighbourhood Zombie

**PERCY**  
  
_Brrring!_  
  
Percy bolted awake. He was already halfway out of bed looking for clothes when he realized: he wasn't on the Argo II anymore. It wasn't Leo's alarm bell.   
  
He hit the alarm clock to stop the annoying ringing. The glowing blue digits flickered for a split second due to the force of Percy's smack.  
  
Percy sighed. It was his first day of school again, and if he knew one thing about Goode, it was that they didn't appreciate tardiness. He trudged to the bathroom and promptly hit his head against the door. Percy groaned, rubbing his sore head gingerly. Man, what was wrong with him this morning? Was he turning into Jason?  
  
Fifteen minutes and a shower later, Percy was glaring at the clothes choices in his wardrobe unhappily. It looked like Aphrodite had chosen his clothes for him. They were mostly designer. He stuck his head in and spotted his school uniform. A black blazer over a collared white shirt, a striped tie in the school colors, purple and white, and gray pants.  
  
After he put on his school uniform, Percy grabbed his bag and went to the dining room for breakfast. The right side of his ribs still hurt from Clarisse's spear. The gladiator games yesterday were fun but painful. Percy and Annabeth had been unanimously elected the judges of the games by the campers. But Clarisse had insisted on a warm-up match with Percy first. (He'd won.) Several grueling matches and many, many fistfights later, Hazel had been crowned the winner, with laurels. Frank didn't, 'cause he wasn't allowed to turn into animals.  
  
Most of his friends were already seated and eating. Percy's stomach lurched with unease. He wasn't feeling too great about going back to Goode. He had got picked on there. Some of his nicknames included 'Poodle Boy', after Mrs O'Leary busted in one day. The Mist made her look like a harmless poodle.  
  
Percy pulled out the chair next to Annabeth and sat down. They had magical plates and cups from Camp Half-Blood, so he could have whatever he wanted. Blue pancakes appeared on his plate. He reached for the maple syrup and poured them over his pancakes, making a face with a squiggly mouth. The syrup kept on flowing out of the bottle, creating a miniature ocean.  
  
Annabeth gave him a smile and glare at the same time. He picked up on what she was thinking of right away. Their last day on the Argo II. During breakfast she'd complained that he was drowning his pancakes. And he'd told her that he couldn't drown, and neither could his pancakes.  
  
He plopped some butter on his pancakes and picked up his knife and fork. The pancakes were awesome.   
  
"You aren't still worried about it, are you, Percy?" Annabeth asked him.  
  
Percy swallowed his pancakes and mustered up a faint smile. "No, 'course not."  
  
The truth? He was still worried. Percy wasn't exactly Mr Popularity at Goode. They liked Annabeth him a lot. But when he was agonizing over it at the campfire, Annabeth told him to shut up about it. According to her, he had apparently gotten 'hotter' after he got kidnapped by Her Royal Annoyingness, trained by wolves and sent on a sudical quest to rescue Death.   
  
Percy didn't think he was hot. Or that he had gotten any hot-ter.  
  
Suddenly Annabeth slapped him.  
  
"Perseus Jackson-" Percy winced. "There you go again. TRUST ME, SEAWEED BRAIN. EVERYTHING'S GOING TO BE ALRIGHT."  
  
"HELLO." Leo said, entering the room. "WAZZUP?"  
  
"NOTHING." Frank replied.  
  
"WHY ARE WE SHOUTING?" asked Jason.  
  
"I don't know, bro." Percy said.  
  
"IT'S CAUSE ANNABETH IS." replied Leo.  
  
"WELL-" Annabeth started. "It's because Percy's being nervous about his second first day of school."  
  
"Pfft. It's cool, Bill." Leo mumbled while stuffing eggs into his mouth rapidly. As he spoke eggs sprayed out from his mouth like a woodchipper.  
  
"Okay, do not call me Bill. Who is he, anyway?"   
  
"Some merman hero from Camp Fish-Blood." Frank said.  
  
"Um, what?" Piper asked. Her hair was braided with a purple harpy feather today and looked a little less tangled.  
  
"I don't think I want to know."   
  
Annabeth kissed Percy.   
  
"Percy, it's okay." Annabeth laughed slightly. The sunlight shone on her hair, making her blonde hair gleam. It was in a braid that was woven over her scalp. She looked a little like the animated icy blonde girl he'd seen on movie billboards. He wanted to tell her that she was beautiful, but as he opened his mouth the clock rang.  
  
"Alright." Annabeth said, getting up. "That means we have 10 minutes till we have to go. Do what you need to do."  
  
"Leo." Piper said.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You know you need to use the bathroom. You finished an entire 4 glasses of orange juice."  
  
While Leo ran to the bathroom doing the pee dance, Percy downed his juice and sprinted to his bathroom to use the toilet. Leo liked taking his time in the toilet.  
  
***  
  
"Five minutes." Hazel yelled.   
  
Frank ran to the door breathlessly, as Jason was opening the door.  
  
"I'm here! I'm here! Don't go without me!" Frank yelled.  
  
"We're not. You're here." Leo said.  
  
They walked to the elevator, where Annabeth was keeping time.  Piper pressed the 'DOWN' button.  
  
"Four minutes." she said, eyes fixed on her watch.  
  
The elevator doors slid open, revealing a beaming Andrè. That dude was _way_ too cheerful in the morning.  
  
"Ahh, good morning, _mademoiselles, monsieurs_. It is your first day of school! You are excited, no?"  
  
Percy smiled dryly. "Excited's one way to put it, dude."  
  
" _Bon, bon_! You must study, no? So you can become genius."  
  
Just then the elevator doors opened, saving them from explaining. They said bye to Andrè and stepped up. As they were walking away, Andrè stuck his head around the closing doors and said, "By the way, mademoiselle, monsieur, you are all looking very nice! Sharp, no?"  
  
Percy looked down at his uniform. He thought he looked okay. Annabeth looked awesome in her uniform, basically the same as his except with a gray pleated skirt instead of pants.  
  
"So, um, how exactly are we getting to school?" Jason asked. Just then, Annabeth announced, "Time's up!"  
  
A big, shiny black car pulled up beside the sidewalk, it's tyres screeching.  
  
"Is this..." asked Hazel.  
  
The door swung open. A raspy voice issued from the driver's seat. "Well, are you kids coming or not? Time's a-wastin'."  
  
They climbed into the car hurriedly. The seat seemed to elongate to fit them all. Percy caught a glimpse of the driver: a skeleton dressed in a slightly ragged racing uniform. The driver flickered slightly, becoming a man dressed in a chauffeur's uniform. The door slammed shut behind them. Their driver pulled a gear, his wristbone creaking ominously.  
  
"So...um, what do we-"  
  
"Call me?" their driver laughed raspily. "I am Henry Claude-Verailles. I died in a race in the nineties. One of my gears rusted and my car exploded. Daughter of Pluto, your father raised me alongside Jules-Albert, who now serves your brother. I serve the Seven."  
  
"Okay! We'll call you...Henry!" Leo said.  
  
The rest of the rid continued with silence from Henry. Maybe he didn't like being called Henry.  
  
***  
  
"We're here!" Piper said.   
  
They got out of the car. Henry drove off, promising to pick them up later.  
  
Percy stared at the brownstone. He had mixed feelings about this place. But it was special. Goode was the only school that had kept him for more than a year. Heck, he had been here since he was a sophomore.  
  
He adjusted his bag strap and smiled at his friends.  
  
"No place like school, huh?"


	18. We Split

**JASON**  
  
So this was what a school looked like.  
  
That was the first thing that ran through Jason's mind when he walked into Goode. Tiled brick walls, narrow metal lockers, colorful bulletin boards along the hallway. He had never been to a school. And somehow he didn't think the Wolf House counted.  
  
As Jason and his friends walked to the principal's office to get their stuff sorted, a brown haired girl fell in front of them. She shrieked shrilly, her books dropping and scattering across the floor. The girl scrambled for her books as the boy who had tripped her laughed.   
  
"Nice fall, Emily?" the burly boy mocked.  
  
"Knock it off, Vincent." a blonde girl said, scowling at him. She was dressed in a cheerleaders' uniform. "You should know better than to mess with my best friend."  
  
The boy sneered and ran off, presumably to find another target. Leo offered his hand to Emily. She took it, her green eyes wide. Emily smiled hesitatingly at Leo, her smile eventually blossoming over her face.  
  
"Thanks." Emily said softly.   
  
Leo winked at her. "Anytime." Jason could've sworn the girl melted a little.  
  
"Percy, you sure this is the way to the office?" Annabeth asked.  
  
"No, even though I've been here for years. And of course, there's no sign that says 'Office This Way'."  
  
"Oh, shut up, Percy." She smiled at Percy as she said it.  
  
***  
  
"Right, hon. Here's y'all's schedules. Have a Goode day!" the secretary drawled. Her long nails scraped on the desk when she slid the pieces of paper over.  
  
"Thanks, um, Ms George." Piper said, looking at the woman's shiny nametag.  
  
She giggled, putting a hand on her teased blonde hair. "Oh, pish. Don't call me that, it makes me feel old. Call me Kathy. And have some M&Ms before you go." She pointed a shiny red nail at the tall glass jar sitting on her desk.  
  
Ms George was old enough to be their mom, but somehow Jason felt compelled to call her Kathy.  
  
The glass doors swung open behind them, and Gwen Harper strolled in casually, chomping her gum.  
  
"Gwen?" Leo choked. "What're you doing here?"  
  
Gwen smiled lazily at them. "I'm going to _study_ here. My uncle owns this place, after all."  
  
Kathy giggled and patted her hair again. "Well! You know each other! So cute."  
  
The principal's office door opened and a slender gray-haired woman in a suit and pearls came out. Principal Donner smiled kindly at them.  
  
"Welcome to Goode. I trust that you'll all enjoy learning here." she said. "And now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go. Have a Goode day."  
  
Kathy giggled. Again. "Now, darlins'. Your student guides should be here any minute now."  
  
"Hi! Am I late?" A blonde girl said breathlessly, bounding into the office. She skidded to a halt in front of the desk. "Yes. I am."   
  
"This is Diana. She'll be your student guide."   
  
Diana beamed at them, her blue eyes sparkling playfully. "She already said my name, Diana."  
  
"I'm here. I'm here. Sorry. Didn't mean to be late, but I was practising and lost track of time." The speaker had her hair in a ponytail, glasses and a light sprinkling of freckles. "Hi. I'm Laylah."  
  
"Uncommon." Gwen commented.  
  
"Yeah, I know right? Sometimes I wish I had a normal name, but mostly I'm glad I'm not mainstream." Laylah smiled, tucking a strand of curly dark brown hair back behind her ear.  
  
"And I'm here." another girl drawled. "You can now tell Philips to knock my detention off." Her navy blue hair was definitely the brightest color Jason had seen all day.   
  
"Oh, Emile. You bad girl. What did you do this time?" Kathy asked, her lips open in a pout. She was applying some bright pink lipstick on her already bright lips.  
  
"Kathy, it's Em. Or Emmy. Anything but Emile." the newcomer groaned. The multiple piercings in her left ear sparkled.  
  
A bell rang.  
  
Kathy squealed. "Oh, my! First period's already startin'. Y'all better hurry along. Ta-ta now!"  
  
***  
  
They compared their schedules in the hallway. Percy had nearly all the same classes as Annabeth. Since they were juniors, their classes were different from the others. The rest were sophomores. Even Hazel. She was technically thirteen, but according to her file, she was born in 1992.   
  
"I'm taking Percy and Annabeth-you guys are dating? Aw! Mind if I call you both by a name that combines both of your names? How about...Percabeth? Okay? Okay." Diana gushed.  
  
"Geesh, Goldilocks. Cool it, would ya?" groaned Em.  
  
"Only because you asked so nicely, Em. Or should I call you Maddy?" Diana asked, arching an eyebrow.  
  
Em turned red.   
  
Laylah smiled a little apologetically at them. Jason noticed a streak of red paint in her hair.  
  
"Like what Kathy said. Class." she told them.  
  
"Guess this is goodbye. Till we meet again, that is, lunch?" Percy asked.  
  
"Yep. Off to class we go!" Leo said, attempting to be cheerful.  
  
As he was leaving, Jason touched his gladius for reassurance, and also luck.


	19. Meet The Fanboy

**ANNABETH**  
  
"This way!" Diana beamed at them. "Advanced Placement Chemistry. You guys must be smart! That class is super tough."  
  
"Advanced?" Percy asked. He looked like he was going to puke, which Annabeth couldn't blame him for.  
  
"Mmhmm. The teacher's Mr Clyde. Old, wrinkly and proof that dinosaurs still walk the Earth, but good. Well, here we are. Good luck." Diana said.  
  
"Wait! Where're you going?" asked Percy.   
  
"Chemistry for people of average knowledge. I'll meet you two after this period. Bye!"  
  
The sound of her footsteps got fainter and fainter as she walked down the corridor. Annabeth made to open the door, but was stopped by Percy's hand on her shoulder.  
  
"What now, Percy?" Annabeth asked.  
  
"In case we don't come out alive, I just want you to know--"  
  
"Percy Jackson. You retrieved Zeus's master bolt, you held up the sky, you battled Kronos, you almost became a god, and you think you're not going to survive Chemistry?"  
  
"Well, I--yeah." Percy said. Percy's cheeks had turned a pale pink. It looked cute on him.  
  
Annabeth sighed loudly. She loved Percy, but how he could be so dense sometimes was beyond her. Annabeth pulled Percy to her and kissed him.  
  
"I think I'm okay now." Percy muttered, reluctantly breaking free a few seconds later.  
  
She smiled. "Good." Before he ridiculous boyfriend could say anything else, Annabeth pulled the door open and went in.   
  
Annabeth gulped. Big mistake. Fifteen pairs of eyes were staring at her. Behind her, albeit a little reluctantly, Percy shuffled in, his new shoes squeaking on the waxed floor.  
  
At the teacher's desk at the front of the room, an old man looked up. Annabeth could see why Diana had called him a dinosaur. He looked like the impossibly happy version of Akhlys.  
  
The ancient man adjusted his spectacles to rest more securely on his wrinkled high nose. "Mr Percy Jackson and Miss Annabeth Chase, I presume?" The guy had a surprisingly good set of pipes for such an old man.  
  
"Yes." came Percy's voice from behind her.  
  
"You are just in time, I am Mr Clyde. Please take a seat." the man rhymed. He chuckled heartily as the entire class groaned collectively.  
  
Annabeth shouldered her backpack to rest more comfortably and made her way to an empty seat amid stares. The front row was all taken so she had to take a seat near the back. She fumed silently.  
  
A boy with wavy brown hair and a letterman jacket eyed her intensely as she walked past his desk. His friends slapped him on his back, hooting. Annabeth could almost feel Percy puff up behind her. She dropped her bag on the floor next to her new desk, winced when she heard the loud thunk of books hitting the floor(how had she forgotten about the books inside?!) and sat down. Percy chose the desk to her right and sat down. He was touching the pocket with Riptide in it.   
  
Mr Clyde got up and speed-walked to the board. "Welcome to Advanced Placement Chemistry..." He started talking about stats as Annabeth scoped out the students.  
  
In the front rows were a couple of regulation-perfect kids, clutching their number two pencils and eagerly absorbing every word of Mr Clyde's little speech. Next were some normal looking kids goofing off and passing notes. Then behind them was the boy in the letterman jacket and his friends. Occupying the seat next to Percy was a nervous-looking boy in a Trees Got Soul shirt and a neckerchief patterned with birds. And that was all. Obviously AP Bio wasn't very popular.  
  
Percy had started twirling his pencil around expertly. An ADHD trait: they couldn't keep still.   
  
The boy next to Percy leant over. "Hi. I'm Glenn Woodford."  
  
Percy smiled. "I'm Percy. Percy Jackson."  
  
Glenn choked. "No way." he breathed. "Percy Jackson? The Percy Jackson?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked sharply.  
  
"You must be Annabeth Chase! Oh my gods, it is such an honor to meet the Percy Jackson and the Annabeth Chase!"  
  
"Hmm?" Percy asked. His expression was calm, but Annabeth could tell that inside, he was like a stormy sea. Percy's sea green eyes had darkened slightly.  
  
"Half blood." he said meaningfully, wiggling his eyebrows.  
  
"Who are you?" asked Percy.   
  
"Glenn Ferdinand Woodford, Goode High School satyr. Pleased to meet you!"  
  
"...right back atcha, dude."  
  
Glenn held out his hand eagerly for a handshake. Percy high-fived him instead. Annabeth resisted the urge to smack Percy and shook Glenn's hand.  
  
"Hi, Glenn." Annabeth said warmly. She shook the still-outstretched hand.   
  
The satyr's breathing rate increased. Glenn looked like he was going to pass out.  
  
"Oh my gods! Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase! In the flesh!" Glenn grinned. His face was stretched into a huge grin.  
  
"Mr Jackson, Mr Woodford, Ms Chase. If you would care to pay attention?"  
  
Glenn snapped to attention. "Oh yes, of course Mr Clyde sir!"   
  
Mr Clyde smiled dryly. "Thank you for your enthusiasm, Mr Woodford. And now, turn to page 394..."  
  
Annabeth hastily pulled out the thick Bio textbook and thumbed it open to the aforementioned page. Mr Clyde started explaining biological chemistry and Annabeth lost herself in a happy world of amino acids, peptide bonds, and dipeptide.  
  
***  
  
The bell rang.  
  
All around her, people started gathering up their stuff. Mr Clyde sighed. "Well, I suppose amino acids will have to wait for another day. Dismissed."  
  
Percy got up and stretched like a cat. He yawned deeply. "That was, like, the longest lesson of my life."  
  
Annabeth bit back a smile and sighed instead. "Well, I hope you took enough notes, Percy. Mr Clyde hinted at a pop quiz." She tucked her full-length, color-coded notes into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "C'mon, it's time for AP Math. Let's go."  
  
Glenn gawked. "You really are a child of Athena. Everything you are in is Advanced Placement!"  
  
She blushed. "Well, no."  
  
Percy grinned. "It's Gym. Only because they have no AP Gym." She took his hand and rubbed a spot on his knuckle. "Let's go. I don't want to be late!"  
  
"Bye." Glenn said forlonly. He adjusted his neckerchief. "See you guys at lunch. You will sit with me, right?"  
  
"'Course." Percy said. "Catch ya later, dude."  
  
That was one of the things she loved best about Percy. For a friend, he would do anything. But it was also (unfortunately) his fatal flaw.  
  
"Let's go, Wise Girl. You have AP Math, I have normal math. We're right next to each other." He slung his arm over her shoulder as they walked down they hallway. People stared. But Annabeth didn't care.   
  
"Have fun crunching those algorithms, Annie."  
  
"Oh, I will." she promised. "I'm gonna crush them so hard they'd wish they'd never existed."  
  
Percy grinned. "That's my Annabeth."   
  
Annabeth kissed him, fingers in the fine hair at the nape of his neck. She could feel him tense slightly then ease into the kiss. The bell rang abruptly. Annabeth broke away reluctantly, a little lightheaded.   
  
He flashed that slightly infuriating smile that she found hopelessly endearing. "Get 'em." He turned and walked away.  
  
"Percy."  
  
He turned.  
  
"I love you."


	20. Welcome To Jurassic Park

**FRANK**  
  
High school was a war zone.  
  
Frank's reasoning was: that there was battle, carnage and bloodshed everywhere. And of course, precious lives were lost every day.  
  
A few feet in front of them, a boy tripped and fell, exposing his SpongeBob SquarePants underpants. The hallway burst in raucous, hyena-like laughter as the unfortunate victim turned tomato red and ran off.  
  
A precious life has been lost today. Frank thought with regret. Rest in peace, soldier.  
  
"A precious life has been lost today." Hazel said aloud. "May he rest in peace."  
  
He looked at Hazel with surprise. Hazel smiled bashfully. "What?"  
  
"I was just...well...I just thought of the same thing." he explained, tripping over his words.   
  
Hazel blushed as she ducked her head slightly. A curly, cinnamon-colored lock fell in her face as Frank watched, mesmerized.   
  
Their guide, Em, cleared her throat loudly. "And as I was saying, this is the cafeteria. You lovebirds better not get lost in here, or you're dead."  
  
"Zhang! Levesque!" Frank and Hazel turned. Jason, Piper and Leo were hurrying toward them with their guide, Laylah in tow. Jason looked vaguely bemused, Leo was grinning maniacally and Piper looked like she wanted to annihilate someone.  
  
"So how was your first class?" Hazel asked excitedly.   
  
"French? It was fine. Piper's already the delight of Madame Augustin." Jason answered.  
  
"You're missing the point!" Leo exclaimed. "Some girls hit on Jason."  
  
Ah. That would explain Piper's expression.  
  
"It-it's not a big deal, Leo." Jason cut in. He squeezed Piper's hand, which softened her I-will-kill-someone-right-now vibe considerably. She managed to crack a smile.  
  
"There you guys are!" Percy popped up, hand-in-hand with Annabeth.   
  
"You won't believe how fun Trig is!" Annabeth cried. She was beaming. "So many angles to draw! And we've homework due tomorrow!"  
  
"I'm sure Trig is super fun." Diana interjected, smiling weakly. "But now is the hardest and possibly most fatal part of the school day.  
  
"Lunch." Laylah declared gravely.   
  
They all stared at their mortal guides incredulously. Frank couldn't understand why lunch was so deadly. Wasn't it just eating?  
  
Maybe he'd missed something. Maybe it meant fighting for food. He wasn't sure.   
  
Just then, Gwen appeared.  
  
"Hey there. Did I miss anything interesting?" Gwen questioned.   
  
"I guess not." Frank said, scratching his head.  
  
"And now, into the belly of the beast." Diana said dramatically, opening the doors. "After you."  
  
***  
  
A buzzing noise filled Frank's ears. The cafeteria, filled with many students, all making some sort of noise, looked normal. At least, to Frank. Maybe Canadian cafeterias were different. A clean stretch of scuffed white floor spread out in front of them; round purple tables, each blazoned with the school crest, filled up most of the space. The wall directly opposite of them was floor-to-ceiling windows, pale sunlight pouring in through them. To these right of the long, empty cross-shaped aisle were metal food counters, each armed with hulking hair-netted lunch ladies. Erected at the other left end was a mock level; comprised of 2 staircases leading up to another space for eating. The base of the mock level had been cleverly constructed as 3 large steps, meant for sitting. A school spirit banner cheerily advertising Homecoming hung proudly from the mock level.   
  
"Wow." said Jason. "So many people!"  
  
"This is high school, Jason." Piper said.   
  
"This is the most important part: the catwalk." Diana said. Her blue eyes were eerily wide. She gestured to the long aisle.  
  
"I'm sorry, but I don't catwalk. Never! Will I ever!" Leo cried.  
  
"Here reputations are made, lives are shattered, dreams crushed. Everything depends on how you look as you walk down that aisle." Laylah intoned solemnly. Frank noticed that Em had already ditched them sometime ago.  
  
"The cafeteria is also a place of social order. I mean, we're not as extreme as Mean Girls but we have cliques too." Diana explained. "At your south-west, we have the hipsters, art geeks, yearbook committee, newspaper committee, uncool musicians, computer geeks and NHS kids. Neutral in popularity."  
  
"North-west is where the popular kids sit. Cheerleaders, jocks, preps, plastics, cool musicians, JV jocks, biker kids, and wannabees. High in popularity."  
  
"And north-east, next to the garbage disposal, is where the lowlifes sit. The rebels, marching band, emos, stoners and burnouts. So low you could wipe your shoes on them."  
  
"And above all, literally, are the jocks, student government and dramaramas. Top of the food chain."   
  
Diana and Laylah, finished, nodded ominously at them.  
  
"That's it. Now look sharp."  
  
***  
  
The din of the cafeteria quieted noticeably as they set off. Kids paused momentarily to give them a once-over. Bit like the legion assembly, before you were even accepted into a cohort.   
  
Frank felt the short hairs on his neck prickle from all the stares. His battle instinct was on high alert.   
  
Percy and Annabeth were leading the way, as usual. Percy's stride was relaxed, yet confident despite the many stares. Nearly invisible lines of tension had appeared in Annabeth's shoulders, but that was all. Her body language dictated that she was calm and fully in control. Jason, Piper and Leo followed at their heels. Piper was walking a little closer to Jason than she was to Leo, a clear indication that they were a couple. And he and Hazel brought up the rear. They were close enough that Frank could feel the heat radiating off her.   
  
After what could've been an infinity, their walk came to an end.   
  
The food line loomed before them, beckoning.   
  
***  
  
"Where do we sit?" asked Leo. They had successfully wrangled the line and now stood triumphant, balancing their white trays of food.   
  
To their right, a table of people dressed in black and looking mournful (or at least trying to) leered at them.   
  
"Not there." Piper said immediately.  
  
"Wise choice." Diana agreed, appearing beside them. "Come on, you can sit with me for today."  
  
She started walking briskly up the aisle. Seeing as they had no better choice, they followed.


End file.
